January 2025
In This Edition | High-Performance Teams
"The ABA's Mission to 'Keep on Winning' in a Changing Beverage Industry."
Leader’s Corner: | Kevin Keane - Adding Fizz to Top Teams at the ABA |
Howard Guttman: | New Leader Assimilation - What Does It Take? |
Featured Video: | Decision Making - New Ground Rules |
President and CEO
American Beverage Association (ABA)
Kevin Keane serves as the President and CEO of the American Beverage Association (ABA), a nonprofit organization representing the nonalcoholic beverage industry in the United States.
The ABA’s membership includes over 200 companies that produce and sell some of the world’s most popular and innovative nonalcoholic beverages. Members range from major franchise companies like The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper, and their bottling systems to independent brands such as Red Bull, Polar Beverages, Niagara, and other independent bottlers and beverage companies.
Leader's Corner: |
Adding Fizz to Top Teams at ABA |
What’s the American Beverage Association’s mission?
The ABA ensures that the public-policy arena provides a safe, fair, and solutions-oriented environment for our beverage companies to operate in the marketplace and best serve their customers and consumers.
Meaning?
Many government regulations and mandates govern how our businesses should operate. The ABA brings competitors together to create a public-policy playing field that allows them to compete fairly and safely without undue burdens and regulations and unfair taxes. This is at all levels of government: federal, state, and local.
Who are the players on that “public-policy playing field?”
Our member companies are scrutinized and examined by activists as well as lawmakers and regulators at every level of government. The ABA provides a forum for member companies to come together in a pre-competitive manner to address the public-policy issues that can unduly burden the playing field and the marketplace.
Given the broad membership base, how do you manage the potential for internecine conflict that can develop when you put competitors in the same room?
Our members are fierce competitors, no doubt about it! We view that as a strength; the ABA needs to create a forum for competitors to come together to address issues of common concern, level the playing field, and enable them to compete. If lawmakers decide to tax beverages, they will not just tax one company. The taxes will cover all beverages. Our member companies understand the need for a forum in which they can work together on common issues in order to ensure a fair, safe, and affordable playing field for all.
Is that a mission impossible?
It starts with trust. Our members must trust me and the ABA team to create an environment where conversations are candid and protected and where we can piece together common concerns to reach a good outcome for all the companies. Commitment to that process is also crucial. Our members come to the table, put their competitiveness aside, roll up their sleeves, and focus on solving common challenges. This is what gives our industry a unique advantage in the public-policy arena.
What’s the dynamic between you and your staff and those members?
We are influencers. We must gain the trust of our members so that they come to the table confident that they can work with one another in a noncompetitive environment, which is necessary for them to solve problems together. Often, this entails looking for the sweet spot that will enable them to gain agreement on issues. And if they are not there yet, we keep driving conversations with our members to find common ground. At the end of the day, we need to ensure that our members come together to get to the right place for their benefit, the industry’s, and, ultimately, the communities we serve.
What were the crucial management challenges you faced when you assumed the top leadership position?
I was an internal candidate and have been with the ABA for 19 years, so I am very familiar with the team and they with me! I first had to adjust to the new leadership role, and team members had to adjust to me being the top leader. The team could breathe a sigh of relief because they knew me, but I had to make sure that everyone resisted complacency and stayed motivated to take their game to the next level. The challenge for all of us—including me—was to examine how we perform and continue to be successful and win. How do we take our game to the next level? We have always played to win. The only thing harder than winning is to keep winning by continually raising your game!
Continuous winning is a tall order. How did you accomplish it?
It required many elements, such as focusing on elevating the team’s level of play, gaining the confidence of everyone on the team as we chart an ambitious course, continuous development, and a deep commitment to career growth. We take on big challenges, work as a team, and work to win. And we do it together. We don’t beat our chests when we do win. We don’t have one person running around claiming all the credit. We win as a team.
What did you initially focus on as you began your high-performance journey?
We aimed to elevate our performance by fostering authenticity and candor, supporting each other's success, and openly discussing issues. When facing contentious matters, we objectively analyzed individual contributions and encouraged behavioral changes to develop effective solutions.
Did your journey go beyond the senior team?
Yes, we've extended the process to our vice presidents. After securing buy-in and behavioral changes at the executive leadership level, we integrated high-performance concepts with our VPs and plan to continue this approach throughout the organization. Our goal is to embed high performance into our organizational culture. While more work is needed, we're making significant progress.
What would I notice if I were a fly on the wall before and after you've been through the GDS high-performance process?
Post-GDS, the team is more willing to raise issues, even those that might be uncomfortable. For instance, if I hold a position on an issue, I now engage the team in understanding the rationale, encourage discussion, and remain open to adjusting my stance based on their input. You'd observe a team confident in raising concerns and providing constructive pushback, which is essential for effective leadership and organizational growth. This collaborative dynamic is crucial for elevating our performance to the next level.
Beyond policy articulation, does the ABA attempt to influence government outcomes through lobbying and related activities?
Absolutely! We’re an advocacy organization that takes pride in being proactive and solutions-oriented. We roll up our sleeves and get involved in policymaking. We don’t just leave it to others; we insist on being at the table. We’re not just trying to advocate for certain ideals but for specific positions that our members work together to develop. We refer to them as “Our Better-Way Solutions” to societal issues—solutions that have meaningful and measurable impact.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the beverage segment in your 19 years with the ABA?
The focus used to be on what’s inside the bottle: the beverage itself and its makeup—especially the sweeteners that are used. But now, the other ingredients are also being looked at, along with the bottle itself: whether it’s plastic, aluminum, or glass, and even what’s on the bottle, including what’s on the label and how it is made. Activists in the public-health community, the environmental community, and regulators are simultaneously looking at all these elements. That’s different! We live in an era of division, too. When I became President and CEO 18 or so months ago, I said to the Search Committee that I intended to lead the ABA through this time of division and culture wars and positively position us as a unifying force, addressing issues that people care about in ways that matter to them and to come out of these times as a winner, not a casualty. And we do that with smart policy, smart politics, and smart people.
When did you start with GDS?
When I was named interim CEO in March 2023, ABA Chair Matthew Dent, the Search Committee, and the Board gave me a gift: Howard Guttman. He became my executive coach while I served as interim CEO. Although I was competing for the top job, members of the Search Committee wanted me to step up and lead, whereas, previously, I had been in a support role for the then-CEO. The senior executive team did a 360-degree evaluation of my performance. Their feedback helped me understand where I needed to improve and grow. And Howard coached me, especially whenever I was stuck.
What were you hoping to accomplish with GDS?
The questions for the Search Committee and me became: “How do we take our game to the next level?” and “How do we keep on winning?” After Howard worked with me personally for eight months, and I was given the CEO position, GDS became the natural choice to help the senior team. He resonated with the “let’s get it done,” pragmatic approach to meeting our challenges, both organizationally and in terms of personal growth.
What does “keep on winning” look like to you and your team?
Take beverage taxes. The industry went through a rough period when we lost tax fights across the country over a two-year period. We decided to change our strategy, and, as a result, we began to win. For example, we won one tax fight, got another tax repealed, and won a preemption on beverage taxes in California. Our approach was to position ourselves in a more positive light and not just be against an issue. We need to build on this approach to address all our challenges, today and tomorrow. To “keep on winning” we can’t be complacent or predictable. We need to find new ways to be innovative, cutting edge, and set the standard.
What’s an example of the “positive light?”
Sugar in products was a growing concern. We’ve made some bold moves, such as pulling full-calorie soft drinks from schools. We’re the first industry to feature a calorie label on the front of packages. We’re committed to reducing the calories in the American diet by twenty percent by 2025. We created more choices of products with zero sugar. In fact, due to our companies’ broad innovation, 60 percent of beverages sold today have zero sugar. Our job at ABA is to let consumers and public policymakers know that the changes in the beverage aisle were made intentionally by our companies in order to give consumers a wide number of options, with or without sugar, that taste great.
Have executives in your ABA companies noticed any difference in you and your team’s performance?
They see us leading and driving forward. They see us solving problems and scoring tough wins. They see us working to take our game, and the industry’s, to the next level. At the Board table, I hope they see a confident team that’s unafraid to make its case. If the Board asks tough questions, our directors will see ABA leaders who actively listen and confidently state the “what and why” of their position – and use the discussion to make sure the Board is creating strong policy. Also, it’s important to note that, over the past year or so, we have become a largely new team. Certainly, there is more growth to come yet, though we’re on a strong path.
Was your high-performance journey worth it?
Building horizontal, high-performing teams in an organization is a strong way to elevate your game as a team and as individuals. It’s challenging and can even be uncomfortable, but do it right, and you will see the payoffs in terms of teams working together more coherently, authentically and productively. And that helps us to keep on winning by taking our game to the next level. Always more work to do, though! Our journey will stay an on-going one – always raising the bar.
New-Leader Assimilation |
What Does It Take? |
by Howard M. Guttman
Given the battery of tests, reference checking, and endless rounds of interviews that new leaders typically must endure, you would think that the success rate for onboarding would be reasonably high. Think again. Surveys of new leaders show that anywhere from forty to seventy percent of new leaders fail within the first 18 months. And a McKinsey study found that ninety percent of CEOs wished they had managed their transition differently.
There’s truth in the old adage that you can only make a first impression once. How new leaders show up to their team, starting on day one, can well determine whether they will become just another failure statistic. In my experience, I’ve noticed that new leaders, especially those coming from outside an organization, tend to have a chilling effect on their teams. Team members are likely to be wary and hesitant to put issues on the table, wondering how far it is safe to go with the new leader. Maslow survival instincts kick in, and the team retreats to Stage One behavior.
New-leader assimilation is about playing a hurry-up, high-performance game. The objective is to rapidly unfreeze the team, build solid relationships, and create greater authenticity and transparency between the leader and their team. We were working recently with a new leader of a major biotech firm who listened carefully to his team members during our initial new-leader assimilation session. His approach was not to be a Mr. Fix It, who was there to repair a broken team, but to capitalize on team strengths and work together to take it to the next level. This gave the leader and his team a solid basis for the follow-on alignment session and the rigorous journey ahead.
We developed our New Leader-Assimilation program out of sheer necessity. During the COVID pandemic, new leaders would join a remote team, approaching the situation almost as though it were a blind date. The leader and team members hadn't met, were often clueless about what to expect from one another, and didn't have a handle on shared values and trigger points. Common ground had to be firmly established before the initial team-alignment session and before it could function as a high-performing entity.
Our New-Leader Assimilation program takes place after data collection from interviews with the leader and team members. They then participate in a one-day, intensive meeting in which they analyze the data to gain insights into expectations, values, and relationships. There's a quick overview of the high-performing team process to prepare team members for the alignment session, typically a few months away, and for the dynamics and relationships that drive high-performance teams. Context setting is critical!
The session aims to speed up transparency and build trust, establish ground rules for working and interacting, and provide the leader and team with a better "feel" for one another. It's a hands-on session, with specially designed exercises for self-revelation and opening up about expectations, comfort zones, challenges, and learning opportunities.
New leaders exert a gravitational pull on their team, which is why we coach them before the assimilation session to demonstrate vulnerability and non-defensiveness, balance active listening and assertion, focus on the needs of the organization and less on "me," be inquisitive about the culture and traditions of the organization and team, and leave the session having commanded respect without commanding. Do this as a new leader, and your team will be well on its way to becoming a power-on, cohesive team of leaders.
Decision Making I: |
New Ground Rules |
by Howard M. Guttman
In a complex, rapidly changing environment, top-down, consensus decision making is out.
Distributed decision making is in.
Tune into Howard Guttman’s take on the new rules of the game.
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Great Insight. Glad to see ABA's commitment to to reducing the calories in the American diet by twenty percent by 2025.